Sensex down 282 points, set to end on dismal note

With several front line stocks reeling under severe selling pressure, the market remains deep down in the red in late afternoon trade, and looks set to end the session on a dismal note.

Amid worries the U.S. government could pull back on quantitative easing, and on concerns about the near term outlook for the global economy, markets across Asia and Europe have tumbled today, rendering the mood extremely bearish on the Indian bourses.

The Sensex is down 282.28 points or 1.44% at 19,360.47, slightly off the day's low of 19,342.82. The Nifty is down 93.95 points or 1.58% at 5849.10.

Metal and realty stocks are among the worst hit in the sell-off. The BSE Metal index is down nearly 3%, while the Realty barometer is down with a loss of about 2.5%. The Bankex has plunged by a little over 2%, due to heavy selling in several blue chips in that space.

Capital goods, PSU, FMCG, power and automobile stocks are also mostly trading notably lower. Power, pharma and IT stocks have come off their highs, while consumer durables stocks are managing to find some support.

Among Sensex stocks, only Bajaj Auto and GAIL India are up in positive territory at present. Both these stocks are trading marginally up.